Thursday, December 01, 2005
"Everything Is Illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foer - pgs. 75-125
As I read pages 75 through 145 of "Everything is Illuminated" by Jonathan Safran Foer, I decided that the section of the book revolving around the lives of Yankel and Brod is the most enjoyable thing that I have read in this Introduction to Literature course. This is especially surprising to realize because I found myself rather underwhelmed by pages 1 through 74, which I found to be more confusing and with less involving characters (The best part of those first pages was the introduction to the life of Yankel).The characters of Brod and Yankel are the reason that I found the second reading to be so much better than the first reading, or any other reading this semester. In fact, I managed to read through the first 25 pages of this reading remarkably quick compared to the time it took me to finish even the first 15 pages of the book. I was engrossed in pretty much every part of the relationship between Brod and Yankel – such as their somewhat existential conversations, their inability to love anything or anyone, including each other (and their reliance upon each other in spite of, or perhaps because of this), their seeming contentedness within their relationship and their dynamic despite their sadness in most other situations, etc. I found this part of Foer’s story to be refreshing and original, while still remaining understandable and relatable.
However, though it is not as interesting as the story being written by the fictional Jonathan Safran Foer, I am also interested in the story being written by Alex. Even though I still at times have trouble interpreting what Alex means in some of his writings, I now see Alex more as an actual and authentic character, as opposed to the less complex, slightly caricaturish character he sometimes came off as in the first reading; the same is also true for the rest of his cast of characters. As of now, between the three narratives (fictional Jonathan Safran Foer’s story of his family origin, Alex’s story of his trip with fictional Foer, and Alex’s letters to fictional Foer), I can only see the first as being able to stand on its own as an individual story. This is likely because only the fictional Foer’s story is structured like a conventional story, because the fictional Foer is supposed to be a writer (the fact that I can decipher this is further evidence of the actual Foer’s writing abilities). Perhaps as the book progresses, my feelings about the two lesser narratives may improve. However, the three narratives intertwined work better than any of them could have on their own.
However, though it is not as interesting as the story being written by the fictional Jonathan Safran Foer, I am also interested in the story being written by Alex. Even though I still at times have trouble interpreting what Alex means in some of his writings, I now see Alex more as an actual and authentic character, as opposed to the less complex, slightly caricaturish character he sometimes came off as in the first reading; the same is also true for the rest of his cast of characters. As of now, between the three narratives (fictional Jonathan Safran Foer’s story of his family origin, Alex’s story of his trip with fictional Foer, and Alex’s letters to fictional Foer), I can only see the first as being able to stand on its own as an individual story. This is likely because only the fictional Foer’s story is structured like a conventional story, because the fictional Foer is supposed to be a writer (the fact that I can decipher this is further evidence of the actual Foer’s writing abilities). Perhaps as the book progresses, my feelings about the two lesser narratives may improve. However, the three narratives intertwined work better than any of them could have on their own.
